HP apple exports up

A record 414,000 tonnes of apple was exported from Himachal Pradesh in the last season as a bumper crop of 560,000 tonnes of fruits was registered last year, Chief Minister VB Singh said here yesterday.

Remarking that apple was the backbone of the state's agro-economy, he said Himachal Pradesh had made tremendous progress in the horticulture sector.

Marketing network was being strengthened to ensure best facilities to the growers, he said inaugurating a two-day seminar on agricultural-horticultural marketing development and management.